The Venom Ladder Cobras Only

[00:00:00]Welcome to the jungle, guys. It's time for another venom ladder, and today it's strictly cobras.

[00:00:23]All right, guys. First up, and I suppose technically last, is the snouted cobra, Nigera. He's got a LD50 of 0.8 milligrams per kilogram. And as you can see, the snake has got a a gigantic head, so he's not going to battle to get enough venom into you. Now, this is the least toxic cobra out of the ones that I own. That doesn't necessarily make him the least toxic cobra out of all of them. But these guys here, we've had this pair for a long time now. This is the boy, and they've bred for us. They make such beautiful babies. Full band straight away. But they are very, very, very calm. Captive bred animals. It's really difficult for me to try and get a hood out of them. And I don't really want to make him have a hood, even though it looks cooler. Let's have a look. No, he just wants to cruise around. Now, these snakes have got like pretty much a pure neurotoxic venom. So, they got quite a clean venom as far as the venoms go. This gig got that same fixed fang right in the front like all the other cobras do, but he cannot spit his venom. So, the holes are at the bottom and they go straight down. But have a look at how beautiful this animal is. his girlfriend. She's a bit bigger, but we've gotten a lock from them. A lock, for all you guys who are not too sure, means that they've mated. So, I don't want to be handling her because I wanted to make me some beautiful babies.

[00:01:35]But have a look at that snake. Coppers, yellows, oranges, browns. It's just such a beautiful snake. Formerly, these used to be known as the Egyptian cobra. Now, when I say formally, I'm talking like 190 something. It was a really long time ago. Maybe not that long, but anyway, a long time ago, they used to be known as the Egyptian cobra. Now they've been made into their own complete species which is the snouted cobra and they get that name from that enlarged rostal scale which is the nose scale basically right on the front of his face. Have a look at that snake guys. So let's step it up and go to the next one. All right guys, Mosmb beek spitting cobra. You're going to see I'm going to try and move as little as I possibly can because I do not want venom in my mouth. These things spit and they just keep spitting. 0.6 6 milligram per kilogram on the LD50.

[00:02:23]She's starting to turn at me. Beex, can you try and do some moving there? There we go. Right now, this was a rescued snake and she's become an ambassador.

[00:02:32]Please don't shoot me. She's become an ambassador animal for a ride in the mouth. Okay, we're going to make this one short cuz I'm deathly allergic to these snakes and getting in the mouth is never a good idea. So, mosaic spitting cobra, they'll spit first. 0.6 milligram per kilogram is quite high up. I didn't realize they'd be that bad. Potent cytotoxic venom.

[00:02:56]These snakes have quickly become the most dangerous snake in southern Africa, meaning that they bite more people than any other snake does. And these snakes are only found in a part of our range.

[00:03:07]Now, the biggest reason for that is poverty. People living in formal settlements, sleeping on the floor that tastes disgusting, like soap almost. Um, people sleeping on the floor, lots of rats around, lots of rubbish. These snakes come in looking for food. They'll feed on frogs as well, and then they go in, go crawling over bed, someone feels something on their face. What do you do? Boom. You touch it, and um, yeah, the snake replies. But I'm not going to film with this too much. I just wanted to show you guys.

[00:03:34]You can see she's, we're still working on her. She's got a bit of a nose rub on her face. Sorry, James Bond. Just put the guns away, okay? Please, no need to spit you. Um, so Oh, sorry guys. I'm spitting on this camera a lot, but man, that flavor is just disgusting. Um, but anyway, very peached stomach, very drab color on the top. I think from the front once they spreading a hood. Now, these snakes spread one of the best hoods out of cobras I've ever seen. You can see how wide it is. She doesn't stand all that high, but she shows you exactly who she is. That is the mosmbbein spitting cobra, Naja Mosen Beika. Okay guys, we're getting up on the list now. It is, of course, the brown or eastern forest cobra. These are our local natives here in South Africa, especially in the province I come from, Kaden. Now, this snake, he's getting up on the list. He's got an LD50 of 0.6 migs per k millig per kilogram. So, again, big snake. He's giving us a bit of a growl, man. What a snake. I love this thing so much. And it's hooding. Yay. Anyway, 0.6 millig per kilogram. He's got a massive head.

[00:04:36]Can pump a whole bunch of venom into you. And what I love about these snakes, the handling on this is is a different level though. So, let me maybe let me keep this there because from there, Becca is doing a good job of keeping her entertained while I get to talk from behind. And I just love these positions.

[00:04:52]But you guys can have a look. Goes from that brown color all the way down, starts to get this black speckling, and then into the tail, which is completely black. Why he's got that, who knows? I reckon it's cuz he basks with his head up out the Hey, don't turn at me. Look at Becca. Look at Becca, Mr. Snake.

[00:05:10]Yes, good snake. Okay, so potent venom.

[00:05:13]These guys have got also a bit of a cytotoxic capability to their venom. So, a lot of the bites from these snakes end up with a little bit of necrosis and all sorts of things. Hello, my girl. You're a beautiful snake, aren't you? It's okay. You can look at me. It's all good.

[00:05:27]Just don't lunge at me, okay? I'm just talking about you. Not anything bad, though. All right, big girl. Listen to the growl that this animal makes. Now, these are one of the largest true cobras in the world. This exact subspecies, Naja subfalva, not exactly right up there. They do get big though. But the ones that we're going to get out high up on the list is also a forest cobra. And man, oh man, they maybe not going to be as easy as what this girl is being for me. I'm just going to make sure she doesn't slide off the table that way and bite Beck on the toes. Let me just grab her. There we go. All right. So, what a beautiful snake. Look at her just standing there. I I feel like these ones are just so regal. Like she as I was saying, they're just so regal.

[00:06:24]They pee freaking all over you. I'm Look at that big come in close. Have a look at that.

[00:06:31]And it um it it um Yeah, it smells.

[00:06:35]Yeah. Well, anyway, they said keep cobras. It's fun. It's fun, they said.

[00:06:39]Not really. It is fun. It's amazingly fun. But have a look at this snake. Now, these guys will stay along the coastal forests all the way up the Kosulunatal coastline and all the way up into places like Rwanda and things like that. That's when they start getting overtaken by the other species. Now, in 2018, every single one of these were known as Niga Melanuca. the just African forest cobra, I guess. And in 2018, they got split just like what the king cobras have just had happen to them. They were split into five different species. I own two of the different species and I've got my eyes on the third, but they are absolutely stunning snakes and I think honestly one of my favorite cobras in the entire world. That is the brown forest cobra.

[00:07:25]All right, guys. Now we're getting up on the list. This snake, I've actually never taken them out in a situation like this just because they are such flighty crazy snakes. I even left them off of the last venom ladder just because I didn't really want to be handling them on this table in this kind of space. But you know what? That video did really well, so we thought we'd pick it up a bit. But this is of course the central African forest cobra, the one species out of the complex that kept his scientific name of Niga Milanoluca. Now, a lot of people, and I think this is so cool, I'm going try and move over so be can see it. Think that a snake can sting you, especially here in Africa. And I think I know where they get it from.

[00:08:02]Have a look at what he's doing with his tail poking me with that end skewed. And like it's I mean it's quite sharp. So you can imagine if you're a predator and now you've gotten the snake behind the head and you're about to try and eat it.

[00:08:14]Oxic stuck. And you're trying to eat it and now that thing starts poking you, it's going to make you start freaking out. Now in terms of LD50, these guys are starting to get quite potent. It's got a 0.45 mg per kilogram LD50, which means he'll put you on the ground pretty quickly. Now, these snakes will they're not there yet, but will grow into be the biggest a true cobra in the entire world. Oh, look at that little hood.

[00:08:39]He's got a k little cool k means cool to everybody else here in South Africa. We say k is cool. But he's got a really cool little hood marking. I hope he keeps it until he's an adult. I've worked with these snakes before. Dingo had a a big pair of of forest cobras and I'm sure everyone will remember Shadow and Storm. And this is the exact same species of them. But you can see why I don't really like getting these guys out too much cuz they're getting some good length. These are captive bred animals.

[00:09:04]And what's crazy is they're actually German natives. So they don't come from Germany. But this exact pair that I've got, they were born in Germany. But their range will go through the Congo, most of central Africa, starting to get into the western parts of Africa. But he's going to grow into an absolute behemoth. Now, my favorite part of these snakes, guys, I try and turn him around.

[00:09:24]Have a look at all of those little black stripes on his face. I think they are absolutely stunning. It's one of my favorite parts of these animals. And then he's obviously got those beautiful brown coppers and golds and reds and I don't even know. You got a whole pallet on his neck there. I hope he keeps those until he gets older. But what a beautiful snake. Definitely not a snake to mess around with. These things have got big respect for me. I'm sure you guys can tell that I'm not really trying to take any chances. But again, like it happens with all of our snakes, they just try and get away. He's not even hooding up. He's not trying to fight us.

[00:09:57]He's not trying to attack us. He just wants to get away. But what a beautiful snake. This is honestly, this is one of my dream species to keep. And when the opportunity came up for me to get them, I couldn't afford them at all. But we made a plan. And now they're here. Now they're starting to get some good size on them. And hopefully in about a year's time, we'll be able to make some babies.

[00:10:16]But that is the central African forest cobra. Okay guys, now we on to a snake that I've wanted my entire life. This is the oak the guy who put Cleopetra in the ground. It is of course the Egyptian cobra, Naja Haja. And I've wanted these for so long. I had an opportunity to get a really small pair not so long ago. As you can see, she's still quite small and she's deep in the blue at the moment.

[00:10:41]I just love the attitude on these snakes. Now, even though she's pretty small, it actually makes it I would much rather handle a much larger snake cuz as you can see I'm like cutting grass here with my hook stick. It's just she's sliding off all the time. It's a little bit difficult to be able to get a grab on her tail just because she's so small.

[00:11:02]It's quite easy for her to swing back and hit me on the finger. But they've got an LD50 of 0.4 mg per kilogram. I actually thought they'd be quite similar to the snouted. Oh man, I'm in love. I'm in love. This is a problem. I've got an addiction to cobras and I don't know what we're going to do about it.

[00:11:20]Probably get some more. But look at her just ready to stand up and show you I am the Egyptian cobra. I put Cleopatra in the ground. What a boy. Well, she's the girl. But anyway, because they're so small, it makes it super difficult to try and handle them. I try to bring out the male at first cuz he wasn't in the blue, but he just wanted to shoot away.

[00:11:39]and then they start whipping and biting and just going crazy. But as I say, a snake that I've wanted my entire life and I had the opportunity to get these little guys and they have just been an absolute treasure of fun. Now, these are actually Egyptian locality Egyptian cobras. Egyptian cobras occur all the way through northern Africa up there.

[00:11:59]And like I was saying earlier before she got all pretty and distracted me, I honestly thought the venom on this thing would be very similar to what it is with the snout cobra, but apparently not.

[00:12:07]They actually like probably double as toxic as what the Snider cobra is. But they all come out. So she can see she's got all these little speckles on her and she kind of looks like a little bit of a snider cobra at the moment. But that big old black hood. Let's see if we can get her to turn and go. Yeah. This way. This way. Blind girl. Nope. Not happening.

[00:12:25]But she's got a full black hood. And as she gets older, she's going to go into like a calico face. So she'll get these big black bands throughout a yellow body. And I think that is just so cool.

[00:12:35]But just the name Egyptian cobra, everyone knows what it is. Everyone knows what it's about. I can't wait for these animals to get nice and big and start displaying like this when we're at the park. I'm just so happy with these snakes. Have a look at it. You can see how guys get away with this species with the whole I can play the flute with hookstick. Oh, by the way, guys, new hooksticks from 031 reptiles. I think they're quite cool. So, if you want some, go get yourself some. But that is the Egyptian cobra. Okay guys, Chinese cobra niga atra. Again, little small tiny ones, but when they come up and I don't have them before, you got to get them small so we can make a relationship with them. Now, these guys, we're starting to get properly toxic. 0.29 mg per kilogram.

[00:13:22]Okay, so even though it's a tiny little snake, she's not going to be tiny forever. Obviously, she's still going to grow up and stuff, but even at this size, with such a small head, needing that amount of venom, she'll get it in you. But just have a look at how pretty these snakes are. I think they're such good display snakes. And have a look at that hood marking on the back. I'm going to try and bring her around to the front so you can see the front of her as well.

[00:13:44]How cool is this? Um, this is the first time I've filled with them. I don't think I've ever shown anyone that I've gotten Chinese cobras before. Now, the story on these guys, how we got them, was I was lucky enough to be able to breed out my same wasp in cobras last year. And another bloke, good friend of mine, he had these and some blue solaris and he was like, "Hey, do you want to trade?" And I was like, "Yes, please, sir." Because you know me and my cobras, we got to have them more like Pokémon.

[00:14:07]But this snake occurs in China and obviously being a Chinese cobra and they are quite common along their range. I think this is a snake that a lot of people use for the snake charming and stuff. And you can see, wow, it just displays so well. Look how high she's standing up. She's almost going to fall over. Now, some reports of these snakes are that they can spit, but their fangs are not like a spitting cobra. I'll show you a proper spitting cobra just now.

[00:14:29]Not the same. He's also not on there.

[00:14:31]They the way a spitting cobra's fang works is that the hole is in the front of the fang. So, when she squirts the venom down, it hits the bottom of the tooth and shoots out the front. That's how it can spit accurately. The same spitting cobraas in these guys, very similar to the wrinkles, where the fang is still at the bottom and they'll flick it out. Now, even though they can spit and like I should be wearing goggles, as far as I'm aware, not too many people have ever been spat on by natur. I probably should be wearing them because like we learned with the same old spitting cobra, you know, rather just be safe than sorry. But anyway, we're having fun with her. Now, I've also wanted these snakes for a very, very, very long time. I think they are one of the most iconic types of cobras you can get. You put one of these up, people know what they what they maybe don't know what the species is, but they recognize it because I think it's been used in movies and all sorts of stuff.

[00:15:15]But that pure black coloration going throughout the whole snake with those bands. Oh, they are just so stunning.

[00:15:21]I'm actually noticing her her hood markings on the front for the first time that are also really pretty. But that one on the back, man. Oh man, what a pretty snake. I can't wait for these guys to get up to size and just be such impressive, beautiful cobras. Niga Atra, the Chinese cobra.

[00:15:39]All right, guys. Now, this is a snake I was about to say that needs no introduction. It is of course the seamos spitting cobra at the moment. Currently my favorite type of cobra and we've learned our lesson with these guys even though they don't spit often. When they do it's really bad. So we put the goggles on with these guys. Now this is Asia's most toxic species of cobra requiring 0.18 mg of venom per kilogram to kill you.

[00:16:07]That is a tiny amount. I reckon what that female spat in my eye would have been pretty much close to that. Now, these guys are from the Philippines and they are not really a commonly known cobra. I don't think too many people have ever seen these except on the jungle channel. Subscribe if you haven't. But they are such an impressive snake. They come out hard all the time.

[00:16:28]And hopefully we get to make a whole bunch more babies with these guys. But there is currently no antivenenom made for these snakes. Now, I should probably do a little bit more research on why that is. I'm pretty sure it will be something similar to like our vine snakes here in South Africa because maybe they just don't bite enough people to make it financially viable to be able to make a antivenenom because I mean they're definitely venomous enough to do it. So these guys pack an absolute punch and they are just such good defensive animals. He just wants to get up on there, show you who he is, but again just try and get away. Now, what really gets me with these snakes? Oh, my my old knees. What really gets me with these snakes, if I come in a little bit closer, is have a look at like that speckling, those little yellow flexcks between the scales. And especially once he spreads his hood, if I touch him here, he should do it when he's not climbing under the table. But if I just touch him here, you see him spread that out. You see how the yellow comes through. Now, last video I was telling you guys that he's got a bit of like a Hitler mustache. Oh, I just can't stop getting pooed on today. really can't. If Becca can try and get up close. I'm going to hold him on the hook stick so it's slightly safeish. Um, and just try and see that little Hitler mustache that he's got. He's got this little black flick right on the front of his thing.

[00:17:46]Okay. Well, we can't get it. We We'll try and get some B-roll in of that. But his head color, it's like a very light yellowish brownish color and then it just goes straight in to that awesome awesome thing. Now, see what he's doing here? He's wrapping himself around my arm. From that position, he can use me as an anchor point and flick straight back up. So, we try and make sure that we're getting our hook sticks in the right place at the right time all the time. But that is the same spitting cobra, the deadliest cobra our own. Make sure to tune in next week for another new